


After

by yeaka



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, M/M, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-11-02 02:45:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10935357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeaka/pseuds/yeaka
Summary: They’ve gotten a happy ending, but it’s happier still together.





	After

**Author's Note:**

  * For [honeyvinegar (brandyalexanders)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/brandyalexanders/gifts).



> A/N: Fill for heavierheart’s “39. “Please come home, I miss you” Aragorn/Legolas” request on [my tumblr](http://yeaka.tumblr.com/) [from this list](http://yeaka.tumblr.com/post/160417565360/prompt-list).
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own The Lord of the Rings or any of its contents, and I’m not making any money off this.

Valinor is _beautiful_ , in every sense of the word, and every breath Aragorn takes makes him feel young again. It was worth coming here, worth passing down his crown before his time, just to see grass this green and skies this blue. The air is crisp and warm, the wind light and stirring all the flowers. The far off call of birds is like music. He wanders along the edge of the lush cliff just to see the waves crash below.

He missed being a _ranger_ , has missed it for many years even before sailing, but there’s little use for it here. There’s no evil to hunt and no news that can’t be brought by faster messengers. Still, he took his time away just to explore. The land seems vast and boundless, even though he’s seen two shores already. It’s full of endless wonder. Most of all, it’s good to seek that out without fearing the tick of time.

When he hears a horse in the distance, he turns with hope for company—he’d liked to set out with teams in Middle Earth, though only one followed him here, and that one was supposed to stay in their new cottage. There is, after all, just as much to learn in the city, and hundreds of new elves to meet. A part of him misses Elladan and Elrohir, Arwen and even Elrond, but he tells himself they’ll all sail someday. He’ll see them again. He has that blessing now, and in the meantime, years and years with the one elf he couldn’t live without.

It isn’t a new friend that rides up to him. The horse is brown and lean, a white crest splashed down its forehead. It isn’t the old mount Aragorn used to love, but he’s grown to cherish this one just as much. The rider’s golden hair streams gracefully behind him, longer than the horse’s mane, and Aragorn stops walking, a smile already on his lips.

Legolas isn’t smiling. He slows the horse before Aragorn, trotting to his side. Legolas gives a little nod and murmurs, almost too quietly to be heard over the wind, “Aragorn.”

“Legolas,” Aragorn returns, the greeting as full of joy as usual, even if Legolas’ countenance troubles him. When Aragorn had first proposed to go on this journey, only a short one, Legolas had been too busy greeting all their neighbours to join him. If he’d known Legolas could’ve gotten away so soon, he would’ve waited. He asks, “What brings you here?”

“You,” Legolas says, as Aragorn suspected. Aragorn tilts his head to the side in curiosity, and Legolas tells him quiet plainly, “Please come home, now. I miss you.”

Warmth pervades Aragorn’s chest, but he frowns as he says, “It has only been a few days by my count.” He fears he’s already lost track of time, being unused to agelessness, but Legolas shakes his head and guides the horse a fraction closer, only an arm’s length away.

Offering a hand to him, Legolas murmurs, “That is too long already. I did not drag you across the sea to be apart from you.”

A sad smile touches Aragorn’s lips. He can’t help but wonder aloud, “What would you have done if we had not come west, and you faced many lifetimes still after my passing?”

“I do not wish to think of it,” Legolas answers simply, and Aragorn nods, accepting that. “Now, get aboard, or I will have Eönwë bring you home on a gust of wind.”

With a fond chuckle, Aragorn takes Legolas’ hand. Legolas finally returns a smile, then gives a great heave and helps hike Aragorn up. Settling onto the back of the horse, Aragorn wraps his arms thickly around Legolas’ slender middle. When he flattens them together, feels Legolas’ pliant body against his and inhales the lilac scent of Legolas’ hair, he wonders how he ever managed setting out alone in the first place. 

As Legolas brings the horse around, he promises, “We will go again, I think, but together this time, and map our new world properly. ...But it seems you will have to wait for that, and you must learn that now you can afford to.”

“As my prince commands,” Aragorn teases. Legolas glances over his shoulder, a grin growing across his plush lips. Aragorn ducks forward to kiss them. 

“A prince needs a king,” Legolas decides, and then he takes them home.


End file.
